Back to School...

Well, with fall comes the inevitable - school. Most parents are eager to send their children off to get some peace and quiet at home, and perhaps something done. All summer they've been busy, and now it's time for a break from the kids. I, on the other hand, am the one who get the kidsall day, so I'm back to work! School is upon us, and this is where I earn my paycheck. Usually I'm pretty excited to get back to work, a routine, but with the baby coming, I'm just counting down days: til he's born and my leave starts, then from the end of my leave until Christmas break. My new students are all very happy for me, and last years kids are going beserk! I didn't have much of a belly before summer, so they think it's great to see me like this. I just smile, waddle and wave.

Actually, this last week has gone by really fast. The new students are a lot more well behaved (hooray!) and although class sizes are still high (36 ish) it feels like it's going to be a good year. Course, we'll see after the honeymoon period is over :-)

Things are starting to speed up in the baby department. All the big furniture has been obtained (thank you so much grandparents-to-be), clothes are being bought, and Kevin is working on the remodel. Mostly just tearing down at this point, but we're up and running, so it's all good. Kevin is also shopping around for a night job, so we don't pay and arm and leg for child care. He'll be home with the baby during the day, and I'll be home with him at night. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that the sleep deprivation won't be that bad!

Also, we have bought ourselves a new baby-mobile! Kevin's brother Eric was fabulous enough to sell us his beloved Accura.



I am totally in love with this car!! It looks awesome, drives wonderfully, and has AIR CONDITIONING!! Yes, for 4 years we've lived in Vegas with no a/c in our vehicle. I don't know how we've survived, but now...sigh...life is beautiful!




Kevin teases me that I'm going to get pulled over for driving what I call the 'sports car' but I just laugh - I've got the a/c and he's just jealous! It's great to be a 2 car family, he can sleep in for work when I leave, and I don't have to wait for him to get off to come home from school. It's been a blessing that our schedules have worked out pretty close so far, but with him going graveyard, and with no a/c for a baby this just is great. A million thank you's to Eric for takin' one for the family!!

Home on the Range...

You can take the girl out of the country, but never the country out of the girl! I've been visiting my parents back in Montana for the last 2 weeks, and it was a blast! The weather was so nice, a great break from the Las Vegas heat. I loved being back in the mountains, and the color green! :-)



My parents own 5 acres and 3 horses, 2 goats and all the accessories. I love their house, made of pine logs and just what you'd expect in the Montana country. Always something to do on the ranch - Dad's latest project was landscaping the edge of the driveway. He's got rocks on the brain, and scoured the mountainside finding the perfect boulders to use in his wall. Rumor has it he even caused rock slides to get to the right ones! If you ask me, it turned out beautifully.



Mom and I spent a lot of time redecorating rooms inside the house. Now that Tieg, my youngest brother, is out of the house too, Mom wanted to give his room a make-over. She had this great idea of using the musical instruments that had been passed down from her father and grandfather (and played by her father and my brothers, actually) and some old pictures she had of them. We spent a lot of time picking out picture frames and figuring out where to put the instruments on the wall, but after all our hard work, Mom has the best room design! I am amazed at the history and the stories on that wall. It is a true work of art.



This room naturally led to reorganizing other rooms, so a lot of time was spent measuring wall space and thinking really hard (which causes major headaches!). We were able to get a lot done, but she's got lots more ideas and projects, which I am handing over to her sister, who will be visiting her next week. Tami - watch out and good luck! Mom'll put you to work! :-)


We also got to show off our musical abilities. Pioneer day was celebrated while I was there, and the Stevensville Stake celebrated with music and games, and cobblers galore. Ya'll know we have a family band (Mom on mandolin, Dad on banjo and me on fiddle) and we teamed up with 2 others to play some bluegrass at the celebration. What a fun time! Nothing beats a little Rocky Top! Some songs went more smoothly than others, but all in all the Bitterroot Rascals stole the show! It was great to have us together, playing again. I love to play with Mom and Dad, they have a great program of music and cowboy poetry, and I'm proud to be a part of the band in some small way.


After all the shopping, decorating and jammin' I was one worn out little lady as I boarded the plane back to Vegas. I swear, time passes faster in Montana, and I was out of time way before I was ready...but I've got some remodelling of my own to do here at the house. And a deadline, October is right around the corner!



Thanks Mom and Dad, for a wonderful time at home! I love you guys!